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A teenager taking his girlfriend for a joyride in a friend's car crashed the vehicle through the front property of a Napier home - just hours after selling it on the owner's behalf.

Brent Gibbs was standing in the lounge of his Pirimai home when he heard a car lose control on a tight bend on Titoki Crescent about 1.45pm yesterday.

"I heard a loud revving noise and the driver had obviously come around the corner too fast. The back end of the car was going out and so he panicked, put in the clutch and that's when I heard a horrendous sound," Mr Gibbs said.

"It was a scraping noise as the car was going across the corner of the property next door, over the top of some recycling bins.

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Police serious-crash investigator Bryan Farquharson said there would be more bad news for the driver, 16, who faced careless-driving charges. He had a learner's licence and breached its conditions by having another person in the car who did not have a full licence.

"He was unfamiliar with the road which has a corner that tightens up on a left hand bend," Mr Farquharson said.

"Through his inexperience, he was going too fast into the corner and panicked, lost control and fishtailed across the road."

Drivers should take that corner about 30km/h, he said. "There were people walking around the neighbourhood at the time, which made it quite dangerous. But the driver was remorseful and in shock, really, and thankful no one was hurt."